European Leaders Meet in Paris as U.S. Pushes Ahead With Ukraine Plan
The leaders of many of Europe’s biggest countries on Monday will descend on Paris in an effort to forge a strategy for their own security as President Trump’s envoys prepared for talks with Russia over ending the war in Ukraine without them.
The meeting in Paris was pulled together rapidly, after Vice President JD Vance’s scathing speech in Munich criticizing Europe’s exclusion of far-right groups from power and the fast-emerging American plans to begin peace talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia this week, without the presence of Ukrainian or European leaders.
Expected in Paris are leaders from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission and the secretary general of NATO.
On their agenda: what Europeans are willing to commit to secure any peace deal over the war in Ukraine in the short term, and in the long term, to secure the continent as it faces an aggressive, expansionist Russia and the predicted withdrawal of the assurance of American support.
The informal meeting was arranged by President Emmanuel Macron of France, who has made calls for increased European sovereignty and capacity for self-defense a hallmark of his presidency. It is expected to be the first of many such meetings between European leaders in the coming weeks, an adviser to Mr. Macron said.
“Europeans must do more, do better and work in a coherent manner towards our collective security,” the adviser, who insisted on anonymity in line with French political practice, said Sunday night.
The leaders are expected to talk about what forms European contributions to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine might take, including delivering weapons to Ukraine and the possible deployment of troops.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in an article published in The Daily Telegraph that he was “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.”
“Securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty for the long term is essential if we are to deter Putin from further aggression in the future,” Mr. Starmer wrote, referring to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
Mr. Macron has been speaking for months to European leaders about forming a cease-fire buffer force in Ukraine to ensure that any peace deal with Russia is maintained.
European leaders are also expected to discuss the acceleration of European defense capabilities, as many now believe that the United States will withdraw tens of thousands of American troops from Europe.
Just 23 of 32 NATO members now spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense — more than a decade after vowing to do so in 2014. And NATO has made it clear that 2 percent must be “a floor not a ceiling,” and more must be spent.
The meeting comes the same day that Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for planned meetings with Russian officials to discuss the future of the Russia-Ukraine war. European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine have expressed surprise and frustration at being sidelined from the talks.
Mr. Zelensky reiterated in an interview broadcast on Sunday that his country would “never” accept a peace deal struck by the United States and Russia if Ukraine was not involved in the talks.
